Latest Dave Roberts Quote Should Kill All Conspiracy Theories About Mookie Betts Never Playing for LA
By Sam Dunn
Did you know that Mookie Betts is going to leave Los Angeles without playing a single game for the Dodgers? Well, there's literally zero evidence of this being the case, but if you listen to the rumor mill, you're bound to catch wind of all kinds of crazy conspiratorial yarns, including the idea that the 2020 MLB season will be cancelled and Betts will still leave the Dodgers in free agency after but a single "year" due to the league's service time rules.
Think that if you want. Go right ahead with that. But do heed the words of LA skipper Dave Roberts, who has nothing but glowing things to say about Betts and fellow newcomer David Price's instant leadership and all-around gravity with the club.
The leadership from David Price and Mookie Betts was already having an effect.
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) March 31, 2020
Roberts: "The way guys gravitate towards them was really exciting to me."@Dodgers | #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/rjvSxc8OhQ
"He’s a great teammate, plays the right game and his acumen is off the charts,” Roberts said of Betts on MLB Network Radio on Tuesday. “The way he took a lot of young guys under his wing and hosted a dinner at his place, got up in front of our guys and challenged us all in a good way, I thought that was really good. Just some of the things I get to see guys on the day day-to-day work and seeing how guys gravitate toward them was really exciting for me.”
Not a bad vote of confidence from a man who's won a World Series as a player and multiple NL pennants as a manager. Does Mookie sound like the kind of guy who will bolt Los Angeles in free agency because business is business?
He'd be within his rights to do so. But any suggestions of such a thing here and now are far, far too premature and not based on any legitimate evidence.
The most important thing for the players: In the doomsday scenario of no 2020 season, they will get full service time, meaning Mookie Betts, Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, J.T. Realmuto and others will be free agents in November regardless of whether games are played.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 27, 2020
We don't know how much baseball will actually be able to take place in 2020, if any at all. Such is life in these strange days of COVID-19. But for now, Dodger fans can take heart in the fact that Dave Roberts sees in Mookie the kind of guy who takes his responsibilities in SoCal incredibly seriously.